


Distant Early Warning

by kerithwyn



Series: Quantum Entanglements [17]
Category: Fringe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-24
Updated: 2011-10-24
Packaged: 2017-10-24 22:30:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/268591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kerithwyn/pseuds/kerithwyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two cases and a complication.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Distant Early Warning

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers: "Alone in the World" and "Subject 9".
> 
> Notes: Quantum Entanglements series. Back to canon. Mostly. (Thank you for not jossing me, Show!)
> 
> Thanks to samjohnsson for all the bloody virtual ink. :D

"You look...*rested,*" Astrid says, clearly exercising monumental restraint. Olivia thinks she deserves some return for that, among so many other things.

"I don't know why you'd think so," she drawls, as blandly as she can. "I haven't slept much over the past few days."

Astrid giggles approvingly and they share a smile. "I'm sorry I didn't bring him by, but--"

"Olivia. That time was for you. I'm glad you made the most of it." Astrid reaches over to squeeze her hand, then goes on to briskly fill Olivia in on what she'd missed the last few days. It's been quiet, aside from Walter's usual eruptions and the addition of Lee to the lab's rhythms.

When she greets him, it's obvious he's curious about her absence but is choosing not to pry. It's just as well, because she wouldn't know how to explain. Idly, Olivia wonders if telling Lee that she was sleeping with his alternate would constitute workplace harassment.

Lee obviously loved Robert as a partner, the way she loved Charlie. But when Olivia reexamines their conversations in her memories, the knowledge of Lincoln's past make her realize that there was something else there for Lee, something unrequited. It makes her ache for him in retrospect, and embarrassed that she hadn't caught the sentiment before. When she mentions her revelation quietly to Astrid she gets a "no kidding, Olivia" look, even if Astrid is too polite to say it aloud.

Olivia had also noticed that Lincoln was always careful to distinguish between her and Liv, though her alternate deserves a full name too. It's something she'll have to think about with Lee, eventually.

In the meantime, he's been handling the absorption of Fringe case files incredibly well. Olivia's glad, again, for the differences between him and his alternate; after being so intimate with Lincoln, any hint of that with Lee would be too much to process. She's already feeling...fond of him, in a way she hasn't felt in a long time. But it's a purely platonic emotion and more like what she had with Charlie--her now taking the role of mentor--than any relationship she's had since his death.

There's no time for reflection in their line of work. A day after Olivia's impromptu vacation the team launches right into one of their weirder cases, which turns out to be a sentient fungus that nearly kills Lee before Walter breaks the connection between the organism and the boy it's linked to. Lee even makes her laugh at the end of the case, turning her own words back on her, and she knows they're going to work out just fine.

But Walter was getting more and more agitated throughout the case and when she goes back to the lab, she barely finds him in time to stop him from lobotomizing himself. The sound of the hammer will haunt her, as will the sight of the orbitoclast in Walter's eye. It's horrible, and she can't fathom what drove him to that extreme...until he reveals the hallucinations that match up with the face from Olivia's recent dreams.

That makes it something new entirely, a case for them to solve rather than (another) sign of Walter's psychosis. Doctor Sumner's letter weighs heavily on her because it's true that Walter's gotten worse, and he really does need more care than she and Astrid can provide. But Olivia also knows there's no Fringe Division without Walter, and no more answers either.

The question of Walter's sanity, at least, is settled by the appearance of a blue energy that chases her until they find a way to neutralize it with the aid of one of the other Cortexiphan subjects. Walter comports himself admirably outside the lab, given everything, and takes Cameron's accusations with full acceptance of his culpability. She hasn't entirely forgiven Walter for the experiments either, but seeing Cameron makes her thankful for her relative luck. After weighing all the factors, Olivia signs the papers to keep Walter out of the institution with a clear conscience.

But that concern is almost extraneous, considering the appearance of the man who had emerged from Reiden Lake, claiming to know her.

Something about him nags at the back of her mind. Olivia doesn't recognize him, but he's definitely the man who was in her dreams and Walter's hallucinations. She keeps hearing a faint warning bell sounding that his appearance signals...something. Change. A fundamental shift in the status quo that she can't see yet.

He bewilders her, especially with the look he gave her, hopeful and...intimate? Like she should know him, and on more than a casual level at that.

It's enough to drive her back through the portal and into the other world, ostensibly to deliver a file on the new arrival in case he's actually from there. It's really an excuse to grab Lincoln and check into the nearest New York motel, no time for the trip to Boston. The haste and discretion is a lot like when she and John used to meet, careful to keep their romance a secret, and the association is a little disconcerting.

None of that matters while she and Lincoln are naked with each other again. Olivia loses herself for a while in the smell and taste of him, all other concerns disregarded.

She hasn't forgotten her other purpose here and afterward, she looks toward the tattoo device he's brought. Actual body ink storefronts are all but gone, Lincoln had explained, since the mechanism is so straightforward anyone can rent and use it, and the results are just as simple to remove if mistakes are made.

This isn't a mistake. Lincoln programs the device and Olivia closes her eyes, feeling only a slight spray on her lower back as he applies the design.

"There," he says, voice sounding strained. She looks back to see him blinking too fast and it's-- it really isn't fair, not at all.

Olivia gets up, not feeling as much as a pinch from her new ornamentation. "Lincoln, please, tell me if this is too much."

He looks at her for a long moment and she's grateful that he doesn't dismiss her concern out of hand. "It-- it kind of is. But I'm glad for that. If that makes any sense." He laughs suddenly, a sharp noise lacking any humor. "I should have some kind of memento too, right? More than a blanket. Because I don't--"

She closes the distance as he says, sounding wrecked, "I don't want to forget you either."

There's nothing more to say. It's not the time or space for a declaration of love, if such a thing would even be applicable; Olivia's old enough and experienced enough (barely) not to mistake sex and love, and she has the memory of Lucas if she ever gets confused on that point again. She feels...a lot toward Lincoln, and yes, maybe it could even be love if they had time to really know each other, but what would be the point of confessing to it now?

"...that man whose file I brought," she says against his shoulder, her own voice sounding hoarse. "There's something important going on in relation to him. Something's different with-- I don't know. Things are about to change."

"I know better than to doubt your intuition," Lincoln mutters, face buried in her hair. Even if he's attributing Liv's instincts to her, Lincoln seems to have caught the scent of her unease. "You said the other day, you were glad to have good memories of John. That those were worth holding on to. I'm glad for this too, no matter what, I--"

Olivia kisses him hard because she can't hear more, not now, and she can't stand to see his tears. She has to leave soon, go back to her own world and start unraveling the mystery the man from the lake presents.

In a little while. Their universes are falling apart, and Olivia wants the memory of strong arms around her to stave off the coldness in the world, the cold fear around her heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Orbitoclast = lobotomy tool. New vocabulary word!
> 
> Newton removed Liv's tattoo with a penlike device in "The Box," I'm assuming it's as easy to apply one as well.
> 
> Series to resume post-"Novation," come what may.


End file.
